The ASUS ZenFone 2 Review
by Brandon Chester on May 26, 2015 8:00 AM ESTGPU Performance
As I’ve already mentioned a few times, both models of the ZenFone 2 use the PowerVR G6430 GPU from Imagination Technologies. This is the same GPU used in Apple’s A7 chip, although the implementation in A7 likely has a max GPU clock of around 450MHz, while in Atom Z3560 and Z3580 it peaks at 533MHz. While one would think this would give the ZenFone 2 a lead over the Apple A7 based iOS devices, factors like driver optimization can also play a role.
The ZenFone’s performance in 3DMark is very good, and is one of the highest that we’ve seen. Much of this is due to the score in the physics test, which bests even the Galaxy S6 that had previously topped the chart, and second only to the Venue 8 7000 tablet. In the graphics test it achieves a score similar to that of the iPhone 6. The overall weighted average of the two tests puts the ZenFone 2 in fourth place, between the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy S6 Edge.
In BaseMark X we see that the ZenFone 2 stumbles compared to the G6430 implementation in the iPhone 5s. Despite the higher clock speed on the GPU, it trails the iPhone 5s in both the Dunes and Hanger tests. The final score ends up right in the middle of the chart. It’s not as quick as the iPhone 5s and faster devices, but it’s quicker than those that use Snapdragon 801 and Adreno 330.
Our last benchmark is GFXBench. In the off screen 1080p tests we see that the ZenFone 2 is slightly quicker than the iPhone 5s in both Manhattan and T-Rex HD. The differences are small enough to be attributed to test variance, but the important point is that the G6430 GPU ends up being as quick as the implementation in Apple’s A7 SoC. The fact that it’s only as quick as the iPhone 5s despite its higher clock speeds indicates that PowerVR GPU drivers on Android are not as well optimized as on iOS, and it would be great to see GPU performance improve a little bit down the road via driver improvements.
Overall, the GPU in the ZenFone 2 is more than fast enough to run the OS smoothly and run any 2D or 3D games a user will want to play. The performance is substantially better than any other phone at this price point. It looks like there's still a gap between the optimization of PowerVR GPU drivers on iOS versus Android, but despite that the ZenFone 2 still delivers performance that I know won't disappoint any of its buyers.
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speconomist - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Brandon, could you comment on the speaker?I have read somewhere else that it's not really good, I would welcome your objective comments (or even subjective too).
Brandon Chester - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Unfortunately I don't have any means of objectively evaluating the speaker which is why I didn't really comment on it. It doesn't sound any worse than the speaker on the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6 really, but it's definitely not BoomSound, and it's not as good as you'd expect considering the speaker grille is so large.speconomist - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Thanks, sounds like good enough.thegeneral2010 - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
i heard it was running android 5.0.1 in 32bit and after upgrading to 5.1 its 64bit got activated is this true?ketacdx - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
The Zenfone 2 is on 5.0. In CPUZ you can see it is an x86-64bit kernel so it is correctly 64bit by default. Ive read this elsewhere as well but its definitely a 64bit kernel.MeganKnight - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
thats greatseh1984 - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Is this a review for the 2GB or 4GB model? If the 4GB model, can we get the benchmarks for the 2GB?tipoo - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
They have the 4GB one, as noted in review. The Z3560 has about 80% the CPU performance of the Z3580, and GPU performance is the same between the two.JackF - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
I just got my new ZenFone 2 yesterday. I finally broke down and made the switch from my iPhone5s which I like but wish it had a bigger screen, I doesn't seem as big as I thought it would be - it fits in my front jeans pocket with no problem. After reading the reviews, I am being super careful not to drop it. I routinely drop my iPhone but I have a rubberized type case to cushion the impact.So far I am liking the phone - after using it non-stop all morning (surfing, installing apps, playing games) my battery did get down to 40%. With the same usage tho, My iPhone 5s would probably have been close to zero. I am due for a upgrade in October, so I will see how this goes.
re2onance - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
I ordered one myself and I'm coming from a iPhone 5 which is supposed to have really good web browsing battery performance, so I'm wondering how it will work out. I'm probably going to try to root the phone and run something like greenify to wipe all the crap I don't want on it which comes pre-installed. Hopefully that and updates will improve the battery life on the device, although I'm skeptical.